Mom Weds Molester Of Her Daughter

SANTA ANA, CALIF. — A man convicted of repeatedly molesting a 10-year-old girl married the victim`s mother in a courtroom ceremony moments before being sentenced to 24 years in state prison.

Thomas Floyd Hughes, 27, convicted last month of eight counts of forcible child molestation, was married Friday by Superior Court Judge James Perez in his chambers.

Hughes` handcuffs were removed for the brief ceremony and he was allowed to kiss his wife, Sylvia Bean, 33, before going into a nearby courtroom for sentencing by another judge.

His bride -- who had begged her daughter not to testify against her attacker -- watched impassively as her husband was given a 24-year term and led away in handcuffs. He will not be eligible for parole for 12 yers.

Hughes was convicted of molesting the woman`s daughter eight times between April 1983 and last February. He had lived with the girl and her mother in California and Massachusetts.